Carry Me Home
by captainstrange
Summary: Caitlyn Walker spent two days on her own when the apocalypse started. Till she found the camp at the Quarry. They offered her protection, and made her feel needed. But when Daryl Dixon loses his brother, maybe she will be the one to help pick up his broken pieces? Daryl/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Carry Me Home**

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><p>Caitlyn Walker had wandered across the group at the Quarry two nights after the dead started to walk in Georgia. With her mother, father and one of her older brothers dead, she decided to risk her life and find others like her. But that was after she had put a bullet in each of their heads. She had found this group, and they had taken her in with the promise to keep her safe. Not that she needed protecting, she just wanted to feel needed. Caitlyn kept to herself mostly, sitting in her tent or just outside when the temperature got too hot. She was constantly carving things into wood, or drawing on her sketch pad. One of the blonde sisters, Amy, had complimented her work and she had just smiled in reply.<p>

Caitlyn stood at 5'6, with light brunette hair that just passed her shoulders. She had a tongue and eyebrow piercing, which some of the other members disapproved off. The brunette also had three tattoos. On her left shoulder blade she had 'Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same thing' tattooed in black ink, on her ribs she had 'Silence is the most powerful scream' and on her collarbone she had 'Inhale the future, exhale the past'. She had never regretted getting the quotes tattooed onto her body, because they had helped her so much at times in her life.

On this particular day, a group had gone out on a supply run for various bits and pieces so they needed mores hands to help out. Caitlyn had grabbed her washing and was heading down to the Quarry when Carol and Amy had joined her. She smiled at them, but stayed silent on the walk down.  
>"So, Caitlyn. What's your story?" Amy asked, fiddling with one of the shirts in her arms.<p>

Caitlyn shrugged in response, "Don't really have one."

"Oh, come on. Everyone has a story. Where do you come from?" Carol asked, looking at her.

"Here, there and everywhere, I guess." This ended their conversation, which Caitlyn appreciated because she still did not enjoy talking. The key to making friends was talking, but she did not feel ready following the events she had seen at home before she left.  
>The three women sat down and started to wash their clothes, Caitlyn humming to herself as she did. That was the only noise except for the water splashing and the sound of brushes on the fabrics. After a long silence, Caitlyn finally spoke again.<br>"Isn't that Lori's shirt?" She asked Carol, who was scrubbing a blue vest top. Carol nodded in reply, causing Caitlyn to speak again. "Can't she do her own laundry? We aren't her slaves, we aren't anyone's slaves."

"It's best not to say anything, Caitlyn. She did just lose her husband-" Amy was saying till she got cut off by Caitlyn.

"Yeah, and? She had months to prepare herself for his death, he was in a coma. I lost my mother, father and one of my older brothers to those freaks. I was the one to shoot them in the head. I don't even know if my other brother is still alive. But you don't see me begging other people to do my shit, you don't see me ordering others to look out for my kid so I can bang my dead husbands best friend."  
>Caitlyn stood, putting her wet clothes back into her bucket before heading back to her tent. Tears blurred her vision as she bumped into Daryl Dixon's shoulder, when she walked past him.<br>"Oi, watch it!" He called to her, having not seen her face.

"Just fuck off," Caitlyn shouted back to him, her voice cracking. "You can all leave me alone!"  
>Daryl sensed something was wrong with the younger female, but decided to leave her too it. Emotions was not something he dealt with well, and it seemed like she wanted to be left alone so why should he worry? He continued on his walk to go hunting, passing by the girl's tent as he heard her crying on the inside. He let out a low sigh, before trekking back and banging on the tent fabric. As a younger brother, he knew exactly how he would feel if Merle didn't come back from the supply run.<br>"Go away!" was the response he got.  
>He let out another sigh, grabbing a fistful of his hair. He unzipped her tent and slid inside, looking at the young female who was curled up on her sleeping bag and facing away from him.<br>"Uh, Caitlyn, right?"  
>The female turned, wiping her eyes and looking at him. Daryl Dixon was in her tent. Daryl Dixon, younger brother to the drug-addict redneck, Merle. The guy who constantly eyed her when she did leave her tent.<br>"Leave me alone. Tell your brother he's not my type."

"I didn't come here for that..." Daryl frowned, looking at her. His brother was flirting with this young girl? "I came to ask if there was any specific meat you wanted me to catch, 'cause I'm gonna go hunting."

"I like squirrel, and rabbit," she replied with a small smile. "You don't usually ask the others what meat they want."

Daryl shrugged, "The others wouldn't understand it if Merle didn't come back." He moved his gaze away from her, eying up the crossbow in the corner. "I know nobody likes him... He hasn't given them reason too. But he's still my big brother, and he's all I got."

"I know that feeling," Caitlyn said, nodding as she sat up and followed his gaze. "My dad used to take me out into the woods when I was younger. Taught me everything I know, my old man."

"So, you hunt?"

"I wouldn't have lasted as long as I have without hunting," she explained. "You will never see me around that fire with the other members."

Daryl let out a breath, seeing a hunting knife just beside the crossbow. An idea hit him and he decided to tell her, "Why don't you come hunting with me?" He suggested, his eyes catching hers. "It might take your mind of the things you saw."  
>It took a moment before Caitlyn agreed, asking him to give her a moment so she could grab all her gear together. He nodded, and moved outside to wait for her. It wasn't long before she came out and they both set off into the wooded area, both walking silently. It was Daryl who eventually broke the silence.<br>"You said you know how I feel. What did you mean by that?"

Caitlyn glanced at him before moving it back to the ground, "I had two older brothers. One passed at the beginning, along with my parents. The other one was in prison, last I heard. Don't even know if he is alive."  
>The younger Dixon frowned at that, watching her expression which gave away how three members of her family had passed. He instantly felt sorry for her, not being able to imagine what she had seen.<br>"I would stay locked in my room when I wasn't working. I used to work at a hospital, as a nurse. Anyway, I was home that morning, following the night shift. Turned on the news and that's where I saw the first glimpse of the world to come," Caitlyn said, starting to tell her story. "It took me by surprise, but then the news reporter said that it started with a bite, I knew I was screwed. When I came home, my mom told me about a lunatic biting my dad in the night. I heard her screams, and my brothers shouts and I knew that my dad had turned. And I just stayed in my room, like the coward I am. I didn't even have the guts to go out there and save them." Tears were flooding her face once more, making alarm bells go off in Daryl's head. "One of the last reports I saw was about how to kill them. And so I did. One bullet for all three of them. Then I set off, searching for places to hide that weren't in the city."

"You aren't a coward, Caitlyn. You were just scared," Daryl said, before holding his hand up to silence her as he eyed a deer. Caitlyn nodded, acknowledging the deer's presence before circling around silently to the other side. Daryl moved his gaze to her before aiming his crossbow, and hitting the deer's rear with an arrow. The deer ran off, startled causing both of the hunters to slowly track from behind.  
>"I wouldn't mind deer jerky," Caitlyn commented. Daryl chuckled in reply.<p>

* * *

><p>From ahead, Caitlyn heard Daryl let out a groan. She quickly ran up, seeing what caused this reaction and stood wide-eyed, staring at the deer with it's throat ripped out. They had been tracking this deer for days.<br>"Son of a bitch. That's my deer! Look at it. All gnawed on by this... Filthy, disease-bearing, motherless poxy bastard!" He kicked the carcass with a grunt.

"Calm down, son. That's not helping," Dale spoke softly, eying up the younger Dixon.

"What do you know about it, old man? Why don't you take that stupid hat and go back to "on golden pond"? I've been tracking this deer for miles. Gonna drag it back to camp, cook us up some venison. What do you think? Do you think we could cut around this chewed up part right here?" He gestured to the area.

"I would not risk that," Shane replied.

Daryl sighed, "That's a damn shame. I got some squirrel... About a dozen or so. That'll have to do."

"Don't take all the credit for the hunting," Caitlyn said from behind him, moving into view as the Walker started to move it's teeth.

"Oh god," Amy groaned from behind the men, looking away.

"Come on, people. What the hell?" Daryl said as he shot through the eye of the head with an arrow. "It's gotta be the brain. Don't y'all know nothing?"  
>The group start to head back to the Quarry, Daryl shouting out for Merle. Caitlyn stood furthest back, eying all the people she passed.<br>"Merle! Merle! Get your ugly ass out here! I got us some squirrel! Let's stew 'em up!"

"Daryl, just slow up a bit. I need to talk to you," Shane said, coming up from behind him.

"About what?" Daryl asked, turning around.

"About Merle. There was a... There was a problem in Atlanta."

"He dead?" Daryl said, expecting the worst.

"We're not sure."

"He either is or he ain't!"

"No easy way to say this, so I'll just say it," the guy behind Shane said. Caitlyn frowned at his presence, who the fuck was this guy?

"Who are you?" Daryl asked, voicing the thought that Caitlyn was thinking.

"Rick Grimes."

"Rick Grimes, do you have something you want to tell me?"

"Your brother was a danger to us all, so I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal. He's still there."

"Hold on. Let me process this. You're saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof and left him there?!" It was obvious to Caitlyn that Daryl was losing his temper.

"Yeah," Rick replied simply.

Daryl went to attack him, but was shoved off. Daryl pulled out his knife, causing T-Dog to shout.  
>"Hey! Watch the knife!"<br>Shane came up behind the younger Dixon, putting him in a choke-hold.

"Okay, okay."

"You'd best let me go!" Daryl yelled.

"Nah, I think it's best if I don't."

"Choke hold's illegal," Daryl stated.

"You can file a complaint. Come on, man. We'll keep this up all day."

"I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic. Do you think we can manage that? Do you think we can manage that?" Rick asked.

"What a bunch of fuck ups," Caitlyn mumbled under her breath, going back to her tent. She put her crossbow in it's corner, and sat down on her sleeping bag. The young brunette shook her head as she started to skin the squirrels that she had caught. Although she didn't know Merle very well, she knew that he didn't deserve to be left up there.


	2. Chapter 2

**Carry Me Home**

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><p>As the young brunette sat in her tent, skinning the squirrels she had caught, she could hear the men shouting at each other. Shaking her head, she put down the squirrels and covered her ears from the shouting. This was a common thing for Caitlyn to endure, as her parents argued constantly when she was younger, right up till the outbreak started. Every time they argued, Caitlyn would sit in her room and cover her ears till one of her elder brothers came into her room to take her out of the house. Opening her eyes, she saw a figure standing just outside her tent. The brunette grabbed her hunting knife, expecting the worst after seeing the walker and the deer. Holding her breath, Caitlyn slowly unzipped the tent, enough to look at the figure outside. Daryl fucking Dixon.<br>"Hey, is it... Is it okay if I come in?"

She nodded, opening the tent and moving out of the way so he could enter. She sat back on her sleeping bag, pulling her knees up to her chest. He slid in and sat opposite her, with a heavy sigh.  
>"I thought you were a walker," Caitlyn whispered, glancing up at Daryl.<p>

"I probably should have said somethin'," Daryl commented, fiddling with his pant leg. "I'm gonna go get him."

"You're gonna go into the city? But that's dangerous."

"My brother is out there. He's all I got left and he needs me now. He might not have been there when I needed him, but that don't mean I ain't gonna be there when he needs me."

Caitlyn sighed, nodding her head slightly, "I guess you are right. Want me to come with? It's not safe on your own."

"Not safe for you, either," Daryl said, glancing up at her.

"I'm a big girl, Daryl. I think I can handle myself."

"I'm just scared that you'll outshine me, that's all."

That comment made the brunette laugh, causing the older male to also laugh. Although they felt guilty about it, they both had to admit that it felt good to laugh again. Since the world's end, they had both been all doom and gloom so laughing, even over something stupid did feel good.  
>"I ain't one to talk to people. But you... I don't know. You are different from others."<p>

Caitlyn look up at Daryl, a frown forming on her face, "What do you mean?"

"Well, you ain't judging me. You know what I feel like right now. I don't know whether Merle is alive or not, and you don't know about your other brother either."

"Life's a bitch though."

"Ain't that right," Daryl sighed, closing his eyes.

* * *

><p>Caitlyn ended up staying behind, Shane saying that they don't know enough about her to be able to trust her out there. It had been a while since they had left, and she was wandering around the camp, looking for something to do. The comment from Shane had stung, a lot. But seeing Daryl rolling his eyes at it, made her smile which made him give a brief smile. As she stood near the edge, looking down at the Quarry, she saw Andrea and Amy fishing. <em>Mm, fish would taste so good right now<em>, she thought to herself as she caught Dale's attention.  
>"Anything interesting?" she asked the elder man, who shrugged with a gesture over to the bushes.<p>

"Jim is over there. Think I should say something to Shane?"

"Choice is yours, only if you think he could hurt himself."

Dale nodded, watching the man again through his binoculars. Caitlyn took this moment to go back to her tent and grab her drawing gear as well as her chair. She headed back over to the RV, putting the seat down in it's shadow and sat down before starting the draw the view. Working slowly, she would glance up and take in the view before copying what she saw onto paper.

About a quarter of the way through her drawing, she heard people talking behind her. So she got up, and put her things away before returning to the group that had gathered around the sisters.  
>"Hey, Dale. When's the last time you oiled those line reels? They are a disgrace," Andrea said, looking at the elder man.<p>

He didn't seem as happy as normal as he spoke, "I, uh. I don't want to alarm anyone, but we may have a bit of a problem."  
>Shane walked up to the group, moving his gaze to where Dale was pointing. Jim was still out in the bushes, digging.<p>

* * *

><p>As the group walked up to the lone man, they saw that he was digging separate holes. Caitlyn frowned at this as some were deep enough to be a grave. <em>Was he searching for something?<em> she thought to herself.  
>"Hey, Jim. Jim, why don't you hold up, all right? Just give me a second here, please," Shane said, softly as he looked at the situation.<p>

"What do you want?"

"We're all just a little concerned, that's all."

"Dale says you've been out here for hours," Morales commented.

"So?"

"So, why are you digging? Are you heading to China, Jim?"

"What does it matter? I'm not hurting anyone."

"Except yourself," Caitlyn spoke up, walking forward. "It's like super hot today, Jim. Heck, even I'm wearing shorts and I rarely do. You can't keep this up, not without water."

"Sure I can. Watch me."

"Jim, they're not gonna say it so I will. You're scaring people. You're scaring my son and Carol's daughter," Lori spoke up, gesturing to Sophia who was wrapped in her mother's arms.

"They got nothing to be scared of. I mean, what the hell, people? I'm out here by myself. Why don't you all just go and leave me the hell alone?"

"We think that you need to take a break, okay? Why don't you go and get yourself in the shade? Some food maybe. I'll tell you what... Maybe in a little bit, I'll come out here and help you myself. Jim, just tell me what it's about. Why don't you go ahead and give me that shovel?" Shane asked, his arms out for the shovel.

"Or what?"

"There is no or what. I'm asking you. I'm coming to you and I'm asking you, please. I don't want to have to take it from you."

"And if I don't, then what? Then you're gonna beat my face in like Ed Peletier, aren't you? Y'all seen his face, huh? What's left of it. See, now that's what happens when someone crosses you."

"That was different, Jim."

Amy spoke up, defending Shane, "You weren't there. Ed was out of control. He was hurting his wife."

Caitlyn stood there, watching as the scene unfolded. It wasn't long before Shane tackled Jim to the ground, mumbling things to him as he tried to fight out of it.

* * *

><p>It was later in the day when Caitlyn walked up to Shane, wanting to call him out for his behavior towards Jim. The guy had sunstroke, there was no need to get violent. But upon observation, Caitlyn had also noticed that almost all the holes were 6 foot deep, which did worry her. Was something going to happen to them? Were they all gonna drop dead?<p>

"Shane, hey, Shane!" she called out to him as he walked away from Jim. She watched as he sent Carl and Sophia over to Amy, who was with the fish. Carol followed them. Caitlyn walked over and pulled him to a more secluded area. "What you did to Jim was not acceptable."

"What do you mean? He was gonna hit me."

"That doesn't give you a right to hit him. He had sunstroke, for fuck's sake. Maybe you should remember that actions speak louder than words, but words from the wrong mouth speak louder than actions."

"Is that a threat?" Shane growled, grabbing her arm as she turned to walk away.

"Take it as what you want, but I know what you and Lori have been doing the past few weeks. I'm sure you would hate for Rick to find out," Caitlyn said, innocently. "But then again, maybe it will do us all some good. He might kill your ass."

The brunette walked away from the deputy, heading back to her tent where she climbed inside and sat down. In the shade and out of the sun felt so good right now. She decided not to tell him about the possible graves, he was an ass and deserved to find out the hard way. As the night got colder, Caitlyn eventually changed into a pair of jeans and put on her gun holster. It was something she always had on in the night, in case of something happening. She slipped her handgun into it's hold, tucking her knife into her belt before walking over to the camp fire.  
>"Hey, Caitlyn," Carl greeted, moving over so the brunette could sit next to him.<p>

"Hey, little dude," she smiled, ruffling his hair before accepting a plate of fish. "Does it taste good?"

"Oh, yeah. Best meal since we got here," Carl replied, causing her to laugh.

"Don't let Daryl hear you say that," she teased.

"You are so weird," Amy said, looking at Dale which caused the group around them to laugh.

"It's not me. It's Faulkner. William Faulkner. Maybe my bad paraphrasing."

Caitlyn watched as Amy got up from the campfire, moving to go to the RV. Andrea's arm reached out to her.  
>"Where are you going?" she asked, causing Caitlyn to roll her eyes.<p>

"I have to pee. Jeez, you try to be discreet around here..."

Everyone laughed, except Caitlyn who just watched Amy till she went inside. In her gut, Caitlyn knew something was gonna happen and stood up, looking around.  
>"We're out of toilet paper?" Amy asked, as she walked out of the RV. In this moment, a walker came up to her and took a bite out of her arm, making the young blonde scream in pain and shock. Andrea witnessed this and let out a scream, causing the group to scatter.<p>

Caitlyn did what she did best and climbed up a tree, pulling out her handgun and starting to shoot the walkers who were surrounding the group. A walker started to claw away at the tree she was in, and she went to shoot it but she was already out of ammo. Groaning, she put her gun away and pulled out her knife, reaching down and stabbing the walker through it's brain. She dropped down and started to take out walkers with her knife, looking around for anyone in trouble. Suddenly, more gun shots are heard, and she saw Rick, Daryl, T-Dog and Glenn come out from the trees and start to kill the remaining walkers. When they were all dead, Caitlyn watched as Carl ran up to his father to give him a hug. Everyone looked around the fallen, Daryl catching Caitlyn's eye as Jim speaks.  
>"I remember my dream now, why I dug the holes."<p>

* * *

><p>It wasn't much later that Shane and Rick walked up to the brunette who was sitting down by the water, looking into it's depths. Everyone had been awake all night, and Caitlyn didn't feel like sitting around with everyone who was crying. It was early morning, probably about 5 or 6 and someone had finally realized she was down there. Amongst the walkers, the young female had recognized one of the faces and she broke inside.<br>"You are pretty good with a knife," Shane commented from where he stood behind the female.

"How many did she take down?" Rick asked, glancing at his companion.

"At least five, just with a knife. Maybe two with her handgun."

"Only switched because I ran out of ammo," Caitlyn replied, staring at the water. "And you say you can't trust me. One of the walkers that I took down was my own aunt, so don't you ever give me that shit ever again."

Shane gulped, stepping back and looking at Rick who seemed at loss of words, "I'm sorry to hear that, Caitlyn. Would you like us to bury her?"

"Burn her. She's dead anyway. It's doesn't even matter anymore. There's the dead and the living, you just have to know the difference between them. My aunt is dead, as are my parents and my brother. I put them down, for everyone's safety." She looked up at the men, her face expressionless.

"Girl's got balls," Shane said as he walked away with Rick.

"Yeah, we are gonna need her. Maybe she can go on watch today, while we've got people going off and stuff," Rick suggested.

"Might do her some good, but make sure she is in the shade. Seems like she was in the sun too long yesterday, her arms seem a bit red to me."

Rick nodded, walking ahead and over to the group who were yawning and gathering together. Shane stopped where he was, watching Caitlyn as she threw stones into the water and watched as it rippled out. The girl had balls.


	3. Chapter 3

**Carry Me Home**

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><p>Caitlyn was sat on top of the RV, her emotions running wild inside her head. She had been put on watch, while the others buried their dead and burned the walkers. Andrea was leaning over her sister's dead body, Lori was currently down there talking to her but getting no response. Caitlyn watched as Daryl shoved a pickaxe into heads, and as Glenn and T-Dog threw them into a fire they had made. She heard Rick speaking from below, but knew he wasn't speaking to her so stayed quiet.<p>

It wasn't long before everyone minus Caitlyn and Andrea were circled together, all discussing the situation with Amy. Caitlyn was sat on the RV, the heels of her boots hooked round the ladder as she watched Andrea. Her eyes moved over to Daryl when she heard him speaking.  
>"Y'all can't be serious. Let that girl hamstring us? The dead girl's a time bomb," he said, gesturing over to the blonde sisters.<p>

"What do you suggest?" Rick asked, all eyes on Daryl.

"Take the shot. Clean, in the brain from here. Hell, I can hit a turkey between the eyes from this distance."

"No. For God's sakes, let her be," Lori interrupted before walking off with Carl.

Caitlyn shook her head, quickly glancing at Amy to check she was still dead before climbing down and walking over to Daryl. She put her hand on his shoulder when she reached him, causing him to jump with shock before realizing it was her.  
>"For what it's worth, I agree with what you said. She should at least let us permanently put her down, so she can grieve without also being killed."<p>

Daryl smiled, putting down the pickaxe, "On their heads then." He nodded at her before walking over to Morales, speaking to Jim on the way, "Wake up, Jimbo. We've got some work to do." He helped Morales drag the body he was struggling with towards the fire, where Glenn stopped them.

"What are you guys doing? This is for geeks. Our people go over there," he said, pointing in the direction.

"What's the difference? They're all infected," Daryl shrugged, looking at the young Asian.

"Our people go in that row over there. We don't burn them! We bury them. Understand? Our people go in that row over there."

From where Caitlyn was standing, she could tell that the young male was struggling to keep himself together, but he looked relieved when Daryl and Morales finally took the body over to the other pile.

"You reap what you sow," Daryl stated.

"You know what? Shut up, man," Morales frowned at him.

"Y'all left my brother for dead. You had this coming."

Caitlyn smiled sadly at the younger Dixon, before heading over to her tent for a bit of quiet time. She laid down on her sleeping bag, arm over her eyes as she took deep breaths. The lack of sleep had hit her hard, and with what had happened yesterday, she was feeling physically and emotionally drained.

* * *

><p>Caitlyn had been informed that Jim had been bit in the attack. They had gathered a group together to discuss possibilities. Caitlyn walked up to them, which caused Daryl to start speaking his mind.<br>"I say we put a pickaxe in his head and the dead girl's and be done with it."

"Is that what you'd want if it were you?" Shane asked.

"Yeah, and I'd thank you while you did it."

"I hate to say it... I never thought I would... But maybe Daryl's right," Dale added.

"Daryl is right. They are both time bombs. It won't be long till they are eating our flesh. I say we put them down before they put us down," Caitlyn said, speaking her mind.

"Jim's not a monster, or some rabid dog," Rick said firmly.

"I'm not suggesting-" Dale started to say before being cut off.

"He's sick. A sick man. We start down that road, where do we draw the line?" Rick asked.

"The line's pretty clear. Zero tolerance for walkers, or them to be," Daryl said.

"What if we can get him help? I heard the C.D.C was working on a cure."

"I heard that too. Heard a lot of things before the world went to hell," Shane shrugged, causing Caitlyn to scoff.

"What if the C.D.C is still up and running?"

"C.D.C went down," Caitlyn said, like it was obvious. "Everyone went down. There is no power, so how the fuck can they find a cure?"

Rick gave her a look, choosing to ignore her comment as Shane started to speak, "Man, that is a stretch right there."

"Why? If there's any government left, any structure at all, they'd protect the C.D.C at all costs, wouldn't they? I think it's our best shot. Shelter, protection..."

"Okay, Rick, you want those things, all right? I do too, okay? Now if they exist, they're at the army base. Fort Benning."

"That's 100 miles in the opposite direction," Lori pointed out, Caitlyn rolling her eyes at Shane's suggestion.

"That is right. But it's away from the hot zone. Now listen to me. If that place is operation, it'll be heavily armed. We'd be safe there."

"The military were on the front lines of this thing. They got overrun. We've all seen that. The C.D.C is our best choice and Jim's only chance."

"Look at you two. Jesus, I swear... The government is gone, okay? There isn't a government. There is only us and any other survivors who are just like us, okay? Get that into your thick brains," Caitlyn shook her head. "But why would you listen to me? I obviously don't know anything."

"Well, what do you know?" Shane asked, pointedly.

"I know that Fort Benning was the first place to go down after Atlanta," Caitlyn smirked. "I was on the road longer than you, remember? I heard more things than you did."

"But signals went down-"

"People talked, okay? There is no where safe."

"You go looking for aspirin," Daryl interrupted, looking at Caitlyn quickly. "Do what you need to do. Someone needs to have some balls to take care of this damn problem." He started to walk over to Jim, with Shane and Rick following him.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Shane shouted as Daryl took as swing at Jim with his pickaxe.

Rick put his gun to Daryl's head, giving him a hard look, "We don't kill the living."

Caitlyn's hand hovered over her knife, in case she needed it, "Funny, coming from the man who just put a gun to someone's head."

"We may disagree on some things, not on this. You put it down. Go on," Shane said, looking between Daryl and Caitlyn.

Daryl dropped the pickaxe, and walked off with Caitlyn following him. They arrived to his tent, both sitting down outside it with their backs on the hot fabric."What do you think about all this? Benning or C.D.C?" Caitlyn asked him.

Daryl was silent for a moment before speaking, "Neither. Thinking I might skip the journey and find a new place to hide out."

"Why? Don't you wanna stay with the group?"

"Not really. Only need me for food. But if they go to either, they should have plenty of food."

"I'd miss you, if you went though," Caitlyn admitted, looking at him as she nibbled on her lip nervously. "You know how I feel, you know?"

"Could always come with me," Daryl shrugged, picking up a stick and starting to chip away at it with his knife. "We could survive together."

Caitlyn laughed, watching his hands as he chipped away. It was silent till she got an idea, "Do you have a picture of your brother?"

Daryl frowned, looking startled as he looked up, "Huh?"

"Your brother. Do you have a picture of him?"

"Uh, think so. In my wallet. Why?"

"Can I borrow it? I promise I'll get it back to you."

He nodded, opening his tent and grabbing his bag, before searching through it, before pulling out an old shabby wallet. He opened it up, pulling out a picture of him and his brother, passing it to her.

"This is perfect, thank you," she kissed his forehead before getting up and running to her tent, leaving the older male to follow her with his eyes with a confused expression. And that was the last anyone saw of the young brunette till later in the day.

* * *

><p>Everyone was gathered around a car with Rick and Shane in front of them. Caitlyn glanced at Daryl with her backpack on her back. She knew she should leave, if she wanted a chance to survive, she should. But she just couldn't bear it. She started to pay attention just as Shane finished speaking.<p>

"You're gonna hit your horn one time. That'll stop the caravan. Any questions?"

"We're, uh... We're... We're not going," Morales stuttered, looking at all the members.

"We have family in Birmingham. We want to be with our people," Miranda, his wife, said.

"You go on your own, you won't have anyone to watch your back," Shane pointed out.

"We'll take the chance. I got to do what's best for my family," Morales replied.

"You sure?" Rick asked.

"We talked about it. We're sure."

"All right. Shane," Rick gestured forward.

"Yeah, all right."

They spoke to each other before handing a gun to Morales, Shane handing him ammo. They started to exchange goodbyes and Caitlyn caught Daryl's eye. She shook her head, making him frown.

"I'm not going," Caitlyn piped up, staring at Rick.

"What? Caitlyn..." Rick frowned.

"I'm sorry, Rick, but this group... I'm sorry." She took a deep breath, as her eyes glazed over. "I honestly think I'll be better off on my own."

"How can you say that?" Daryl said, staring at her. "How can you say you'll be better off on your own? From what I saw, half of these people should be thanking you 'cause they are still alive! Especially fucking Andrea! I saw you take down two walkers that were making their way over to her when she was busy sobbing over her sister! You aren't walking away from us now."

Half of the group stared at the loner, while the other half stared at Caitlyn. She shrugged in reply, moving over to her tent, grabbing something from inside it. She walked over to him, passing him the sheet of paper.

"What's this?" Daryl asked before falling silent as he stared at the paper. Staring back at him was a portrait of his brother, scars and all.

"You're welcome," she whispered as she kissed his cheek before walking back over to her tent and started to pack it up. Just as she was finished, she saw some of the members walk over to her and whisper their 'thanks'. She brushed them off till Lori walked over and pulled her into a hug.

"I really don't think you should go," Lori whispered into her ear. "I know we don't get on, but I saw you save Rick the other night, and I feel like it would be good to have you around. And it looks like someone will miss you." They both glanced over at Daryl, who was leaning on his arms at his truck with his head bent down. Caitlyn had a decision to make, and fast.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - So, thanks for the positive response to this! I'm trying to not update quickly, but that isn't working so far. I'm hoping to slow down now that I'm gonna start running every Monday, Wednesday and Friday which means updates should be done Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, maybe. I am also gonna start up a proper YouTube channel for just random daily events, so if you wanna see that just leave a review requesting to be told or PM me. See you guys in the next chapter!**


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